Cummins Westport Inc., a joint venture of Cummins Inc. (Columbus, IN) and Westport Innovations Inc. (Vancouver, BC), announced that it is part of a team led by SunLine Services Group that has received a $476,000 funding commitment for a bus engine field trial using a hydrogen-natural gas fuel blend. The US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and California's South Coast Air Quality Management District are each providing approximately $238,000 for the project. Approximately 46 percent of the funding will be used by Cummins Westport for equipment and engine testing.
SunLine has selected the Cummins Westport 5.9l B Gas Plus engine, an advanced, 230HP natural gas engine launched in October 2002, for the blended fuel program. Cummins Westport has begun testing the B Gas Plus to develop a calibration for operation on a hydrogen-natural gas fuel blend. In April, after engine testing is complete, SunLine expects to place two B Gas Plus-powered transit buses in revenue service using the hydrogen-natural gas fuel blend, along with two control buses with B Gas Plus engines operating on natural gas. SunLine plans a three-month, 24,000-mile, on-road testing program.
